Plenty of good food goes in the bin because of the date printed on the packet, and much of it didn’t need to. Knowing the difference between “best before” and “use by” dates can help fix a lot of that.
Use-by is a safety cut-off, so once the food passes that date, it isn’t any good. Best-before is about quality, so the food's often still fine afterwards if it passes the look and smell test. And fresh fruit and veg rarely carries a date at all.
Once you know which date to trust, more of your shop ends up on your plate. Here's a bit more about what each one actually tells you (and when to trust your own senses over the label).
Key Takeaways
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Food with a use-by date needs eating or freezing before that day ends, even when it seems perfectly fresh.
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Once the best-before passes, food may not be quite at its tastiest, though it’s usually still good to eat if stored as directed.
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Eggs are the odd one out: use them up before the best-before date arrives.
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Fresh fruit and veg rarely comes with a printed date, so checking it yourself is how you’ll know.
Best Before vs Use By: What's the Difference?
Which date goes on the pack isn’t set by a master list of foods. The business making the product decides based on how it’s made and packed. A fresh pasta sauce from the fridge section can carry a use-by, while a jar of the shelf-stable stuff gets a best-before.
Here’s how the two compare:
|
Date Mark |
What It Tells You |
OK to Eat After? |
Can Shops Sell It After? |
Typical Foods |
|
Use-by |
Safety cut-off |
No |
No |
Fresh meat and poultry, deli meats, some dairy, pre-cut salads |
|
Best-before |
Peak quality |
Usually, if stored properly and the pack isn't damaged |
Yes, if still fit to eat |
Pasta, rice, cereal, canned goods, biscuits, chocolate, longlife milk |
|
No date |
Judge by look and smell |
Yes, while it still looks, feels and smells still fresh |
Yes |
Most fresh fruit and veg |
What a Use-By Date Means
A use-by date is the last day food’s safe to eat. The bacteria doing the damage, things like salmonella, can make you sick without the food looking or smelling any different, so the sniff test doesn’t apply here.
The date’s set by working out how long the food stays safe when it’s stored exactly as the label says, which is why a pack that spent the afternoon on the kitchen bench instead of the fridge is on borrowed time before the printed date even arrives.
The upside is you’ve got options before that date hits. The Food Safety Information Council puts it plainly, saying, “Just remember to use or freeze the food before its use-by date.”
You’ll mostly see use-by on fresh meat and poultry, deli meats, some dairy and pre-cut salads, the stuff where a few hours out of the fridge actually matters.
What a Best-Before Date Means
A best-before date tells you when food is at its best for quality, not when it becomes unsafe.
After the date, it might be a bit stale, softer or less flavourful, but it’s usually still fine to eat if it’s stored properly and the pack isn’t damaged. Shops can even keep selling it, as long as it’s fit to eat, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Like use-by dates, the business making the product sets the best-before date based on how long the food holds its texture and flavour, which is why crackers a month past the date are usually just a little less crunchy, still good with cheese. Canned goods that keep two years or more don’t legally need a best-before at all, because they hold their quality so long.
Eggs are the one to be strict with, though. The Northern Territory Government advises against eating them past their best-before, so treat that date as a firm line.
How to Check Food Past Its Best-Before
Your senses are the best guide here. As RMIT Associate Professor Lukas Parker puts it, “We need people to feel, touch and smell food, not just rely on its best-before date.”
Before you bin anything, run through these:
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Check the pack. Look for tears, broken seals or packets that have been opened and left open.
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Look closely for mould or discolouration, or anything that doesn’t look like it did when you bought it.
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Give it a sniff. Stale is normally fine. Sour, musty or anything foul isn’t.
Cans are the exception to the senses rule, a can that’s swollen, badly dented, leaking or rusty should be thrown away.
Other Dates You'll See on Australian Labels
Baked On and Baked For
Bread with a shelf life under seven days doesn't need a best-before or use-by date. Instead, you'll often see "baked on" or "baked for" instead, which tells you roughly the same thing in a format that suits a fast-moving product.
What About Expiry Dates?
“Expiry date” isn’t actually an Australian grocery term. Under the Food Standards Code, it’s reserved for things like supplements, infant formula and some pharmacy products, where sale after the date is banned outright. Good to know so you're not treating your pantry pasta the same way you'd treat a bottle of vitamins.
Why Most Fresh Fruit and Veg Has No Date
Something a lot of people don't realise is that fresh fruit and veg doesn’t need a date mark at all.
Packaged produce only needs one if the packaging hides its condition, which is why a loose bunch of bananas or a bag of apples usually has nothing printed on it. Freshness comes down to look, feel and smell instead, the same senses RMIT’s research says we’ve gotten a bit too quick to ignore.
And remember, an oddly shaped or sized piece of fruit or veg doesn’t equal one that’s past its best!
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A Funky tip: A bendy carrot or a floppy stick of celery usually hasn’t gone off, it’s just lost some water. Trim the ends, stand it in a glass of cold water in the fridge for a few hours, and it’ll firm back up. (Slimy or smelly is a different story.) We’d rather see it in a stir-fry than in the bin. |
A wonky carrot or a slightly undersized zucchini is just as good to eat as a picture-perfect one. Yet around 30% of fruit and veg gets knocked back before it even reaches a shop shelf, purely on appearance or because growers end up with more than the big retailers ordered. None of that has anything to do with whether the food’s actually good to eat.
Giving that produce a second change is good for your wallet too. Because this produce would otherwise go to waste, fruit and veg boxes can run up to 30% cheaper than the supermarket, without cutting corners on what lands in your kitchen.
How Confusing Date Labels Add to Food Waste
FSANZ research found up to ⅓ of Australians and New Zealanders are unclear on what date marks actually mean. Australians bin roughly 7.6 million tonnes of food a year, plenty of it still good, tossed on a guess rather than an actual look in the fridge.
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Did you know? Since we started, we’ve rescued more than 7.4 million kilos of fruit and veg that would otherwise have gone to waste, packed into over 627,000 boxes for Aussie households. |
Simple Habits to Waste Less at Home
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Check dates as you unpack the shopping. It takes a minute or two and saves digging through the fridge for dinner three days later.
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Move older food to the front of the fridge, new groceries to the back, so last week’s yoghurt gets eaten before today’s.
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Freeze meat and poultry before the use-by date if you won’t get to it in time, portion it, bag it, date it.
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Follow the storage instructions on the pack. A lot of “gone off” food just wasn’t stored the way it was meant to be.
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Cook around whatever’s closest to its date, not just whatever you feel like that night.
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Keep an eye on what’s coming in your delivery. Knowing what’s arriving makes it easier to plan around, and beats letting it sit in the crisper until it’s not an option anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Raw Chicken One Day Past Its Use-By Date Safe to Eat?
No. Use-by food can’t legally be sold or safely eaten past its date, however fresh it looks or smells. One day over is still over.
How Long After the Best Before Date Can You Eat Food?
There’s no fixed cut-off. Best-before food can usually still be eaten after the date as long as it hasn’t gone downhill. Check the pack, trust your senses, and judge it on the day rather than counting days.
Can You Eat Eggs After the Best Before Date?
It’s best not to. Eggs are the exception to the usual best-before rule, and its advised against eating them once the date has passed. If you’ve got more than you’ll get through, plan an omelette or frittata before the date ticks over.
Can You Freeze Food on Its Use-By Date?
Yes. Freeze it on or before the use-by date, not after, freezing locks in the food’s condition right then, so it’s just as good once it’s thawed.
Can Shops Sell Food Past Its Best Before Date?
Yes, provided it's still fit for human consumption. Use-by stock is a different story: shops can't legally sell that past the date.
Fewer Dates to Decode, Less Food in the Bin
Use-by doesn’t bend, but best-before’s more of a guide than a deadline, and most fresh fruit and veg skips the question entirely.
Next time you’re unpacking the shopping, give the dates a proper look, trust your senses, and let a bit less of it end up in the bin.
Every bit of food you save at home counts, and the same goes for the fruit and veg that never makes it off the farm. That’s the part we look after. We rescue it and deliver it to your door, helping reduce waste in your home and back on the farm. Join us in tackling food waste on both fronts and build your first box of rescued fruit and veg.
